I have a recipe that calls for 1
lemon, peel cut into strip, the juice squeezed and
strained. It also calls for 1 orange, similarly
prepared. How much ground and dried peel (that I bought
in a grocery store) should I use? J
You can use equal amounts of
dried lemon peel for fresh (about 1 teaspoon equals a
lemon) but you won't be able to use it for substituting
the juice. I encourage you to go get a lemon and an
orange! Your recipe results will be better for it.
A 25g bag of fresh oregano is
equivalent to how much dried oregano. JW
You stumped me on this one.
I never thought to weigh an herb before drying. Many
other variables would come into play like just how fresh
it really is (water content) and the stems which would
be removed for dried oregano. Sorry I can't help more.
I have a pickle recipe that
calls for dill seed and it has been many years since I
have done any pickling, but years ago I used dill seed
to replace "fresh dill sprigs", but now this new recipe
( which is in a gallon jug and keeps in the fridge for
weeks) calls for dill seed at this writing, I cannot
find any "dill seed" in the spice section of the grocery
store, only "dill weed". Can I substitute? Or do I need
to maybe find a local farmer and buy "fresh" dill and if
so, how much of that should I use? What would be the equivalent of fresh to dried?? Any information you could
provide would be very much appreciated...Thanks in
advance. NG
Finding the fresh "dill
heads" would be worth your effort, I think. Many
supermarkets stock them in the produce department at
this time of year but the farmer's market is always a
good source to start with.
Someone asked me to find out how
to measure fresh dill versus dill seed that you buy in a
store. I have never canned anything but I told them I
would try to find out for them. I don't even know what
fresh dill looks like but she was asking something about
dill "head" and how to measure it. The recipe call for 1
teaspoon of dill seed. How much should be used of fresh
dill. Thank you. CP
A dill head is the flower of
a dill plant. Left to develop, it will go to seed. The
seeds have a strong dill flavor but aren't particularly
interchangeable with dill weed which loses flavor when
exposed to heat.
Greetings, I was just surfing
around, trying to find a picture of epazote, and I read
your " all about epazote", and I wanted to add, that as
far as I know, the dried epazote is never used in
culinary dishes, but is only used for medicinal uses. I
think it was in one of Rick Bayless' books, he said if
one tries to use the dried epazote to cook with you will
get a horrible taste. Have you ever tried cooking with
dried epazote? I love epazote with roasted tomatillo
sauce, in a dish called chillaquilles. Topped with crema
and a slice of raw onion ring, mmm. Anyways, thanks for
the info. you have posted. Keep up the good work! KE
I've never even seen
fresh epazote so I have always used the dried version.
Bayless is a stickler for authenticity, I know, but I
often prepare a bean soup recipe from Vegetarian
Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (no slouch
in the kitchen herself!) that calls for dried epazote.
My own recipe for the Corn and Black Bean Salad at "All
About Epazote" calls for the dried herb.
My recipe calls for 2 sprigs of
tarragon. What is the equivalent to dry tarragon? I do
not have fresh tarragon, but the dried leaves. TC
I would use about 1/2
teaspoon tarragon leaves.
Is it possible to substitute
powdered ginger for fresh in Thai recipes? If so, what
would the conversion be for 1 tablespoon of fresh
ginger? Thank you. DW
The two really aren't
interchangeable because the flavors are so different.
Sometimes in baking they are used together to complement
one another. For ethnic dishes where fresh is used think
of it more as a vegetable than a spice. Fresh ginger
freezes nicely if you cut it into inch-long lengths and
wrap them individually.
Could you please tell me how much
dried Kaffir lime I would use to replace fresh Kaffir
Lime leaves. Thank you. Kind regards, LY
The dried leaves don't have
nearly as much flavor as the fresh so you will probably
want to use twice as much.
How much dry dill weed replaces ¼
cup fresh dill? WP
I would go with about 4
teaspoons.
Could you tell me what would be the equivalency of dill weed to dill seed? One tsp. of dill weed = 1 what of dill seed? Although I do understand they have their own flavor. NC
If one were to substitute dill weed for 2 tsp. of dill seed in a bread recipe, how much should be used? Would it give a
more subtle flavor to use dill weed rather than dill seed? Thank you. MK
Interesting these two questions would come
up at the same time. Since dill weed is an herb and dill seed is a spice they do, indeed, each have their own flavor and are not generally interchangeable. Dill weed has a fresh grassy flavor while the seed has a sort of toasted grass taste. If pushed to make an estimate of one for another, I would start with twice as much dried dill weed as the seed.
How much dried thyme equals 6
sprigs? KL
It depends on the size of the sprig, really. For a 4-inch sprig, you would probably get about a Tablespoon of leaves from six of them which would then translate into one teaspoon of dried.
My recipe calls for 1-1/2 teaspoons of fresh thyme. How much of ground thyme do I use. If I use 1/3 to 1/4 of ground to fresh, is this an ok calculation. Thanks sincerely. RB
Normally you would use one-third as much dried as fresh herbs but when the dried is ground it is probably best to go down to one-quarter. Do make sure your ground thyme is fresh. The ground form of herbs and spices loses flavor the fastest.
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro would equal how much dried cilantro? Is there a chart of some kind that I can get for dried spices to fresh spices conversion available That I can down load on the comp?? DL
The basic conversion method is straightforward: 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs is equal to 1 teaspoon dried. Your half cup of fresh cilantro would be equal to 4
tablespoons of the dried version. Be sure to see the article "Fresh or Dried?" for more information.
I have heard that cilantro is best to be used fresh. Can you dry it so that you can enjoy it over the winter? LB
It's true that cilantro is best used fresh but you can certainly dry it. You might retain more of the flavor by freezing it though. Roughly chop it, place into ice cube trays with water. After they are frozen, transfer to a plastic bag. When you want that summer-time flavor you can use the cubes as they are or melt them in a colander that will let the water wash away while the leaves stay behind.
I have couple of recipes which require fresh herbs but I need to know how much a sprig of thyme is and how much a sprig of rosemary is when using fresh herbs? Thank you for your help. J
Most recipes that call for sprigs of herbs refer to a 2-4 inch length. This would equal approximately a teaspoon or so.
I would like to know where I can get a conversion chart for using the amount of fresh herbs and spices to the amount of dried herbs and spices. If a recipe calls for fresh spice what percentage of dried spice would be the same? Thank You G
I am not aware of any chart of this nature but you will find more information on this topic in the article "Fresh or Dried?" A general rule of thumb in converting is to use about half as much dried as fresh herbs.
Great Website!! Could you tell me how much dry basil you need to equal the same amount of fresh basil? I have a recipe that calls for 4 oz of fresh basil and I would like to use dry basil. Thanks!! AD
Generally, you use one-third to one-half as much of a dried herb to substitute for fresh. Since your recipe calls for so much fresh basil, it must be a central part of the dish, you may not get the same results if you use a dried version. Read more on this subject at "Fresh or Dried?"
How much dried basil do I need to equal 1/2 cup of fresh basil?
A general rule of thumb is to use half as much of a dried herb as a recipe calls for fresh. In this case you would need 1/4 cup dried basil.
